Income

I am self employed and at my current projected income level, I can bareley make ends meet and still keep up with my plan, etc.

The way it looks now, most of my $70k in unsecured debt would be discharged.

If I were to start doing better in business would my surplus go to paying creditors?

If I were to start making $2,000 more a month, would all of it go towards creditors? Could I make a case that I need to put some aside for lean times, which certainly could happen, especially since my business is seasonal and not predictable.

If I were to start doing better in business would my surplus go to paying creditors? It all depends on which trustee you are assigned and their expectations about income increases. Some expect to be notified about any increase in income, some want to know only if the increase goes above a certain %, and some don't want to know about any increases after filing. Typically if your trustee is one of those who wants to know about increases, if the increase is big enough, it could increase your monthly payment accordingly.

Could I make a case that I need to put some aside for lean times, which certainly could happen, especially since my business is seasonal and not predictable. Again depends on the trustee, but probably not.

According to the very badly rewritten bankruptcy law, your Ch 13 payment is based in part on the total income earned in the six months prior to filing, and that payment must be made in full every month. It appears in their infinite wisdom, Congress did not take into account that when you work for yourself or in a seasonal job, your income does not come in a steady stream every two weeks or every month all year long. This is making life in Ch 13 very difficult for filers with an inconsistent income as you have discovered. The only thing you can do is save all the excess $ in the good months to tide you over in the bad months so you can continue to make your Ch 13 payments on time. Wish I had better advice to offer :(.